Al-Akhbar English

October 28, 2012

Trade union leaders in Egypt are joined in opposing the Muslim Brotherhood’s approach to rights and freedoms for union action.

Cairo - “Their attitude to workers, trade unions and
economic and social rights is even more hostile than that of the
National Democratic Party,” Egypt’s now-dissolved former ruling party.
That is the verdict of Kamal Abu Aita, head of the Egyptian Federation
of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), on the performance in power of the
Muslim Brotherhood (MB).

Speaking to Al-Akhbar, Abu Aita was particularly critical of the
behaviour of the MB’s labor minister, Khaled al-Azhari, charging that
there was evidence he had been actively inciting employers and
management against protesting workers in various institutions.

“What happened during the protests by Cairo University is a good
example,” he said. “He contacted the dean of the medical faculty at the
university and told him to pay no attention to the independent trade
union and deemed it to be illegal.”

The veteran activist, who helped set up Egypt’s first independent
trade union after the successful January 2007 property tax collectors’
strike, came to his conclusion about the MB’s attitude through his
experience of dealing with its leaders - particularly after the MB
withdrew its earlier support for a new law on trade union freedoms,
which Abu Aita had been promoting as a member of the now-dissolved
parliament.

The legislation was drafted by the previous labor minister, Hassan
al-Boraei, after wide-ranging social dialogue consultations with various
stakeholders, including trade unions and political groups. But its
passage was blocked by parliament’s labor committee by representatives
of the MB’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) .

The FJP members of the committee instead sought to push through
amendments to the existing trade union law, which dates from 1976. But
the process was halted when the then-ruling Supreme Council for the
Armed Forces (SCAF) dissolved the legislature, citing a court ruling
that the electoral law under which it was elected was unconstitutional.

Abu Aita, who opposed the amendments in parliament prior to its
dissolution, believes that “these very same amendments are what Khaled
al-Azhari is now trying to get passed.” He said the minister was
planning to incorporate them into a legislative decree that would be
issued by President Mohamed Mursi, who has assumed law-making powers for
himself in the absence of a parliament, pending fresh elections.

These provisions include, among other things, a ban on more than one trade union operating in a single workplace.

These plans were confirmed to Al-Akhbar by Nagi Rashad, a
member of the temporary board of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation
(ETUF), which was appointed pending fresh internal elections after the
old board was dissolved post-revolution.“I have verified information
from sources I trust that the final draft is currently being completed
by the legal committee at the presidency,” Rashad said.

Rashad was a prominent figure in the Egyptian labor movement prior to
the revolution, who secured a landmark administrative court ruling
compelling the government to set a minimum wage, and was seen as close
to leftist circles. He is now considered one of the very few members of
the new ETUF board who is close to the labor minister.

The board has filed a lawsuit against Azhari’s decision to defer the
union’s elections by six months, which it says oversteps his ministry’s
legal powers which are confined to organizing the elections under
judicial supervision.

Rashad has been trying to reconcile the two sides, and said he was
planning to arrange a meeting between them this week to resolve the
escalating quarrel between the ETUF and the government – perhaps the
first rift between them since the union was formed –which has reached
unprecedented new heights. The minister was even expelled from his
position on the ETUF board, which he had retained despite being
appointed to the government of Prime Minister Hisham Qandil.

Rashad charged that opponents of the proposed amendments were acting out
of self-interest, because the provisions on retirement due to
disability or age would be likely to force a number of the current ETUF
board members out of their jobs.

A different line was taken by Abdul Moneim al-Gamal, who was a member
of the ETUF board before the revolution and retained his position on
the new one. He said he was opposed to the amendments as a matter of
principle, “in line with the international conventions that Egypt has
signed, which prohibit government interference in the internal affairs
of the unions.”
The ETUF, and especially its veteran leaders like Gamal, are scarcely
in a position to speak about international conventions. They have long
been fierce opponents of the establishment of independent trade unions
and of trade union plurality, which these conventions uphold but local
laws prevented.

“Matters are not as they are being portrayed,” Gamal told Al-Akhbar.
“ I am not opposed to trade union plurality in principle, but I am
opposed to it getting out of hand, as that would risk fragmenting trade
union work.”

The mutual hostility between the ETUF and EFITU reflects the
political nature of their rivalry. The former has been closely aligned
to the state throughout its history. The latter was inaugurated in
Tahrir Square, cradle of the revolution, during its first few days,
joining together dozens of independently formed trade unions.

Now the MB seems unwittingly to have brought that hostility to an end, as both sides join forces to oppose it.

Egypt Independent

This week's Eid al-Adha
holidays saw 727 cases of verbal and sexual harassment reported across
Egypt, typically taking place in public gathering places, malls and
movie theaters, beaches and squares, said security sources on Monday.

The “Seen Harassment” activist initiative spotted several cases in
downtown Cairo, especially on Talaat Harb Street, and accused Prime
Minister Hesham Qandil of failing to take necessary security measures to
prevent such violations.

The initiative was launched earlier this month by six women's rights
organizations against sexual harassment that provide free legal support
for women who are exposed to harassment or physical violence.

In a report issued on Sunday, the initiative described three cases of
harassment that took place in front of police officers who failed to
react or intervene. The cases included a 17-year-old girl being harassed
by a soldier near Qasr al-Nil Bridge; a young man in his twenties
violently pulling a girl by her hair and kissing her; and a veiled girl
being harassed while walking with her fiancé, all before the eyes of the
police who did not interfere.

The report added that a female member of the initiative was harassed
while recording an interview with a television channel in Talaat Harb
Square.

The initiative criticized the manner the police deal with harassment
complaints as improper and typically allowing offenders to get away with
the abuse. The activists held the Interior Ministry responsible for
protecting citizens.

Qandil said in a press statement last week that the government was
working on a bill for more severe punishments for sexual harassment,
which he described as a disastrous and strange phenomenon in Egyptian
society.

Activists have long called for amending the Penal Code and to punish
harassers, whether men or women, by imprisonment for a term not
exceeding one year, and a fine not exceeding LE1 thousand.

According to a recent study published by the Egyptian Center for
Women's Rights, 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign
visitors experienced one or various forms of harassment in Egypt.

Egypt Independent

Fri, 26/10/2012

Jano Charbel

While
workers at the Ain Sokhna Port called off their 12-day long strike and
returned to work on Wednesday after reaching a settlement with the Dubai
Ports World company, the Ministry of Manpower, Suez Governorate, and
the presidential envoy, the strikers' chief demand of reinstating eight
sacked co-workers is still being addressed.

Mohamed
Fouad, President's Mohamed Morsy's legal affairs adviser, and Dispute
Settlement Secretary of the Ministry of Manpower Nahed al-Ashri were
able to reach an agreement with management and strikers by which to
re-operate the strategic Red Sea port - offering them concessions and
pledges to meet their demands.

By
Wednesday, one of the eight sacked workers agreed to terminate his
contract with the company and accepted a monetary compensation, while
the seven others are being reinstated pending an administrative
disciplinary hearing from DP World regarding their role in inciting
strikes at the port.

Meanwhile
a joint panel has been formed - consisting of the governor of Suez,
Suez's security chief, DP World management representatives, and workers'
representatives - to address the rest of the demands and grievances
raised by workers in this strike and in previous strikes .

This
latest strike, which translated into a complete work stoppage came
about following the sacking of eight workers on 12 October and escalated
into an acrimonious dispute that threatened to damage not only DP World, but the wider Egyptian economy.

The
2,000 DP World workers have ceased all work at the strategic port,
bringing DP World to a standstill. More than 800 were involved occupying
the port in shifts, said Ayman Abdallah, one of the workers who was
dismissed, at presser held by the workers last Monday.

Since
last year, port workers have also been demanding job security,
full-time contracts for full-time work, overdue profit-sharing payments,
periodic bonuses, hazard compensation and improved working conditions.
The failure to realize these demands, coupled with the dismissal of
eight workers earlier this month, led workers to launch their open-ended
strike.

The
workers who were dismissed produced a memorandum of understanding
signed by DP World officials, the Red Sea governor, and the Manpower
Ministry, stating: “No workers are to be harassed or laid off because of
the aforementioned demands.”

DP
World officials claim they laid off the eight workers in compliance
with the Unified Labor Law 12/2003. The sacked workers disagree.

Speaking
at the headquarters of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade
Unions, Mohamed Abdel Ghany — one of the eight fired workers —
commented, “We received notices from DP World claiming that we were
fired due to our incompetence as workers.”

“Why
are we today deemed to be incompetent?” asked Abdel Ghany, who has been
employed at the port for the past 16 years. “It is because they have no
other excuse with which to fire us, and they’re not willing to admit
that they fired us because we helped organize an independent union at
our workplace, or that we helped organize the strike.”

Abdallah, who has been employed at the port for 14 years, agreed. “Why did they hold on to us for more than a decade?” he asked.

Abdallah argued that this was a punitive measure taken by DP World against the eight workers in light of their organizing.

“Such punitive sackings are a blatant violation of the Labor Law,” he said.

A third dismissed worker, Osama Saad, said they were fired because they were “the eight most vocal workers at the port.”

“Our
coworkers are striking in solidarity with us and demanding our
reinstatement,” he said. “Yet they are striking not merely for our sake,
but out of fear and a sense of insecurity that they too may be fired in
the future for demanding their rights.”

Regarding
lost revenue, DP World officials have said the port has lost LE120
million in the first eight days of the strike alone — averaging LE15
million of losses each day.

Moreover,
Kadmar, a local transit company that ships Turkish goods to Saudi
Arabia, has stated that the strike at Ain Sokhna port has forced the
company to reroute its shipments via Israel. Saudi-bound shipments,
which were due to pass through Ain Sokhna, have been redirected to the
Israeli port of Haifa, and are then transferred overland via Jordan to
Saudi Arabia.

Kadmar officials have threatened of canceling its export contracts from Turkey to Egypt if the strike was to continue.

Abdallah
explained that, in light of the Ain Sokhna strike, many shipments were
transferred to the nearby Red Sea port of Adabiya rather than Israel’s
Haifa. This statement could not be independently verified, however, as
Kadmar and DP World officials could not be reached for comment.

Both
Kadmar and DP World claimed their businesses are being negatively
affected as a result of the Ain Sokhna strike. Kadmar and DP World also
pointed to the national economy, saying it is hurting as a result of
this strike.

Commenting
on the millions of pounds of lost revenue, Abdallah said that if the
company heeded the workers’ demands, it would cost them about LE10
million.

“Instead
they (were) resisting, and have led us to strike, and in doing so have
incurred more than LE120 million in losses,” he said.

Abdallah
did concede that “these losses are not in Egypt’s interest.” But, he
said, the strike “serves to protect the interests of Egypt’s workers.”

With more than 60 terminals across six continents, DP World is the world’s third largest port operator.

Media
reports last week suggested the strikers were threatening to escalate
their actions by burning down the port, but the dismissed workers
vehemently denied these claims.

“These
are lies,” Abdallah retorted. “How could we possibly burn down the port
that is our source of income? It is propaganda directed against us and
against our peaceful strike.”

“The government talks about protecting investors, but these are not investors — they are colonizers,” Saad said.

They also dispel rumors that they seized ships and prevented them from leaving the port.

*An earlier version of this piece appears in Egypt Independent's weekly print edition.

Egypt Independent

Sun, 28/10/2012

Jano Charbel & Sherif Zaazaa

Five male members of an atheist group congregate in one of
Cairo’s crowded downtown bars, sipping beer and Pepsi as they discuss
their thoughts on religion, sex, science, culture, politics and Egypt’s
new ruling regime.

This group — centered on an atheist website — has been holding weekly
meetings since Mohamed Morsy won the presidential election on 24 June.
It consists of both former Muslims and former Christians.

Mohamed, the group’s founder, says the group holds weekly
get-togethers “as a forum where we can openly speak our minds.” Like the
other atheists quoted in this story, his full name has not been used
for his own security.

Group members say they do not seek to proselytize for their beliefs. “We are not a church, nor a religion,” one says.

Discussing the ongoing trial of Egyptian atheist Alber Saber
on charges of blasphemy, in light of his Facebook posts, the same
participant comments that this trial “makes me worried, and has made me
think twice before posting my thoughts on Facebook.”

Discussing atheism or criticizing religion in Egypt has typically been done in closed circles like these.

Several Facebook groups about atheism have been “voluntarily” shut
down over the past few weeks, and most atheists appear to be keeping a
low profile since Saber’s arrest last month. On the other hand, other
atheists have been coming out of the closet and expressing their beliefs
— or disbelief — as openly as possible.

COMING OUT

The Internet has connected many non-believers together, introducing
them to a virtual community that shares many of their outlooks.

The widespread taboo of “thou shall not question” was gradually
weakened with the advent of forums, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook
and credible research online.

Before the pervasive expansion of social networks in the region, the
most prominent blog among non-believers was the Network of Arab
Atheists, created in March 2006, Shady, another non-believer, explains.

Though it has been hacked many times, the site acted as a portal for
many atheists in Egypt and the region. However, anonymity remained the
norm for most members.

Since then, the number of Arab atheist groups, blogs and forums has been dramatically increasing.

Most sites haven’t been set up to promote atheism, as Mohamed
explains, but rather as forums for like-minded people to share their
thoughts.

He says there’s been a massive increase in new members since the
revolution. “The numbers went up dramatically, more than tenfold; it’s
as if people were waiting for that space of freedom to express
themselves openly.”

Offline meetings are regularly organized through his group, although the locations are never publicly advertised.

What is possible or permissible — in terms of atheists’ freedom of
expression — is determined not only by Egypt’s criminal law, but also by
law enforcement officials and popular religious sentiment.

THE 'A' WORD

In Egypt, atheists represent a small segment of the population that
refuses to adhere to religious doctrines. This tendency has been more or
less tolerated, as long as atheists keep their beliefs to themselves.

On the other hand, disseminating atheistic views can be viewed as
blasphemy, denigration, defamation or contempt of religion — all crimes
punishable by law.

Mob violence, as in the case of Saber, is also a threat that some atheists fear.

The state “does not recognize atheism, as a belief or religion, by
law,” says Sherif Azer of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights.

Egyptians can’t put “atheist’ on their national ID cards in the space
allocated for religion, Azer explains. They must choose from three
religions: Islam, Christianity or Judaism.

One atheist, Ahmed, says atheism “is not a religion, it is the lack
of religion. I do not want it written on my ID. I don’t want to have any
beliefs written on anyone’s ID.”

He explains that, given the conservative nature of society, most
other Egyptian atheists would probably be unwilling to have “atheist”
written on their ID cards, out of fear of discriminatory treatment or
abuse at the hands of officials and employers.

According to the Penal Code, there are three articles criminalizing such affronts.

Article 98(e) stipulates that “the contempt of heavenly religions” by
written, oral or any other means is punishable by six months to five
years in prison, and/or fines of LE500 to LE1,000.

According to Article 160, the desecration of religious symbols is
punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, and/or fines of LE100 to
LE500.

Article 161 stipulates that mocking a religion or religious rite in
public is a crime carrying the same penalties as Article 160.

Azer says the willingness to tolerate or criminalize atheism is still being tested under President Mohamed Morsy.

“The Morsy government isn’t clearly against or with these freedoms.
We still have the same laws and same mentalities as before,” he says.

PERSECUTE, MUTE, MAYBE EXECUTE?

While it might be tolerated to one extent or another, atheism is not
welcome among religious societies in Egypt. Families can go as far as
disowning their own relatives, friends might turn away, and, in more
conservative communities, the reactions to atheism and/or atheists can
be calamitous.

Neveen, at 27, is a graduate of biology school who lost her faith in
religion years ago. Egypt Independent sat in on an informal discussion
with her and several of her friends who share a similar understanding of
the world.

Their stories of growing up in a country saturated with religious
beliefs reveal intolerance to any mindset that deviates from the
“God-sent” norms.

“Why are we hated for the way our minds are wired?” she exclaims
despondently, sitting with a few friends who share her beliefs. “Why are
we scorned, looked down upon and persecuted for our personal logic?”

She recalls being grounded for questioning a verse in the Quran that
conflicted with what she had learned in biology about the stages of
fetal development. The incident propelled her yearning for knowledge and
her choice of career.

Her friend Mohamed says he has been living a secret life, hiding his
atheism from his parents since the age of 19, pretending to fast and
pray when he’s called to.

“I put my head down and act the way they do. I know they’ll never understand,” he explains in a somber tone.

Conversely, Shady is a non-religious agnostic whose lack of
participation in religious traditions like fasting and praying
constantly raises the question of “Why?” — a question he refuses to
answer for fear of prejudice.

A lack of Abrahamic belief is often associated with an absence of
morals. “Many believe the stick-and- carrot dogma of religion is what
creates human ethics,” Shady explains.

He then recalls how a Salafi coworker responded to a mention of atheists with “Killing them would not suffice.”

Yet a few atheists also express haughty and judgmental outlooks on their religious counterparts.
For example, Mido says, “I personally see religious people as being
mentally ill. I could still love them and befriend them, but I do feel
superior to them, to be honest.”

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Abdel Aziz, an atheist and advocate for freedom of thought, left
Egypt for South Africa after failing to find any common ground with the
culture he was raised in. Although his family had accepted his way of
life, he couldn’t deal with a society that treated him like an outcast.

He recalls the day when he attempted to change the religion slot on
his national ID from Muslim to vacant, which ended in a contentious,
fruitless argument on both sides.

Ahmed has a different opinion regarding Egyptian mentalities toward atheists.

“I think [atheism] has already been spreading among the community, especially over the last decade,” Ahmed says.

He thinks that “more people will come to question the fundamentals of [religion].”

As for Mido, who has more recently ‘come out’ of the atheist closet, he believes that the ideas are spreading.

“But I don’t see it taking over religion, especially not in Egypt ... perhaps in several hundred years,” he says.

*Art by Mohamed Qandeel

*This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent's weekly print edition.

Huffington Post

10/20/12

JAMEY KEATEN

PARIS — A correspondent for France 24 TV was "savagely attacked" near
Cairo's Tahrir Square after being seized by a crowd, the network said
Saturday. It was the latest case of violence against women at the
epicenter of Egypt's restive protests.

The news channel said in a statement that Sonia Dridi was attacked
around 10:30 p.m. Friday after a live broadcast on a protest at the
square and was later rescued by a colleague and other witnesses.

France
24 did not give further details about the attack, but it said its
employees were safe and sound, though "extremely shocked," and that it
will file suit against unspecified assailants.

The network, which receives state funds but has editorial
independence, said it and the French Embassy were working to bring Dridi
back to France.

"More frightened than hurt," wrote Dridi in French on her Twitter
page Saturday. Referring in English to a colleague, she tweeted: "Thanks
to (at)ashrafkhalil for protecting me in (hash)Tahrir last nite. Mob
was pretty intense. thanks to him I escaped from the unleashed hands."

Ashraf Khalil, who works with France 24's English language service,
said the crowd was closing in on him and Dridi while they were doing
live reports on a side street off Tahrir. He said the attack and rescue
took about half an hour, but it felt like a lot longer.

"The crowd surged in and then it went crazy. It was basically me
keeping her in a bear hug, both arms around her and face-to-face," he
told The Associated Press, estimating that at least 30 men were
involved. "It was hard to tell who was helping and who was groping her."

Khalil said they retreated into a fast food restaurant with a metal
door, to keep her out of the reach of the attackers. He said they
hustled into a car, and some men banged on it as it sped away. Some of
their belongings had been stolen, he said.

"It didn't feel organized or targeted. It felt disorganized," he
said. "I felt angry. I love Tahrir. I have a lot of nostalgia for
Tahrir. I am still angry. I know this is not the first time this
happened; it happened to other people I know. Still, it was a shock."

Tahrir Square was the main hub of a popular uprising that toppled
longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak last year. Since then, it has
seen numerous other protests staged by a range of groups.

At
the height of the uprising against Mubarak, Lara Logan, a correspondent
for U.S. network CBS, was sexually assaulted and beaten in Tahrir
Square. She said later that she believed she was going to die. After
being rescued, Logan returned to the United States and was treated in a
hospital for four days.

The square has seen a rise in attacks against women since protesters
returned this summer for new rallies, including incidents of attackers
stripping women – both fellow demonstrators and journalists – of their
clothes.

No official numbers exist for attacks on women in the square because
police do not go near the area and women rarely file official reports on
such incidents, but activists and protesters have reported an increase
in assaults against women. And although sexual harassment is not new to
Egypt, suspicions abound that many of the recent attacks are organized
by opponents of various protests in a bid to drive people away.

Amnesty International said in a report in June that such attacks
appeared designed to intimidate women and prevent them from fully
participating in public life. The London-based human rights group has
called on Egyptian authorities to investigate reports of sexual assault
against women to counter the impression that no one will be punished.

Cairo
sees another Friday of protest as pro-democracy forces march on the
flashpoint square, decrying Brotherhood rule and the prospect of an
'unrepresentative' constitution

Salma Shukrallah

Several thousand Egyptians rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday,
protesting what they said were attempts by the Muslim Brotherhood to
impose its ideas on society.

Nearly 30 political parties and movements marched across the capital
for the protest, dubbed "Egypt is no-one's private estate - Egypt for
all Egyptians."

Protesters held banners demanding better constitutional representation
and "social justice." One common chant accused the Muslim Brotherhood's
supreme leader of "selling" the revolution.

Marchers flew the flags of the Constitution Party, the Egyptian
Current, the Revolutionary Socialists and the April 6 Democratic Front.
Other banners showed slain activist Mina Daniel, while dozens of party
members wore t-shirts showing their affiliations.

Revolutionary groups, liberal and leftist forces called the protest
earlier this week, voicing their disapproval of a draft constitution
presented by Egypt's Constituent Assembly, a 100-person body they claim
fails to represent the country's cultural and political diversity.

One of the largest marches came from the Old Cairo district of Saida Zeynab and was led by prominent activist Ahmed Harara.

A second was launched from Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandiseen, with
well-known leftist Kamal Khalil and the founder of Egypt's first
independent syndicate, Kamal Abu-Eita, at its head.

Chants at the Mohandiseen march called for "a free, revolutionary
constitution" written by all Egyptians, and vowed to start the country's
revolution "all over again" for the sake of those killed.

One of the most impassioned protests were by the Baheya Masr, a women's
movement, and the Social Democratic Party, both of which decried what
they said were attacks on the status of Egypt's women in the newly
drafted constitution.

"Children should play not get married," read one banner, referring to
alleged serious debate within the charter-writing assembly as to whether
the marriageable age for females should be lowered to 9 years old.

Another banner voiced opposition to Article 36 in the draft
constitution, which stipulates that gender equality be decided with
reference to Islamic jurisprudence.

Pictures of prominent Egyptian women, including 1930s women's education advocate Nabaweya Mousa, were also on display.

"We are here to say Egypt is not [President Mohamed] Morsi's private
estate and we will not have them rule us anymore," said Iman Diab, a 16
year old demonstrator. "Morsi is only recreating Mubarak's old regime."

Other activists who took part said that they didn't believe attacking the Brotherhood was the main goal.

"I'm happy we are all working together again, but we [political forces]
should focus on our demands instead of what we are against," said Salma
Said, a well-known activist.

"We shouldn't repeat the same mistake as before, when we only focused
on our rejection of Mubarak and we disregarded our differences as to
what we stood for," she continued, adding that she had come to Tahrir to
hold Morsi to account for his first 100 days and to protest the
government's attack on labour strikes.

Egypt has seen several high-profile strikes since Morsi won the
presidency in late June, mostly by workers demanding better conditions
and higher wages. Some of these protests were quashed with violent
police crackdowns, to the chagrin of many activists who believe
implementing fairer wages was a core demand of the early 2011 uprising.

"They use religion to justify attacking farmers," shouted protesters,
led by Haitham Mohamaden, a member of the Independent Federation of
Trade Unions.

There was low-level violence throughout the day, when revolutionary
groups turned on members of the Conference Party, founded by former
presidential candidate Amr Moussa, calling them "remnants" of the old
regime.

Other demonstrators on the square voiced anger at Brotherhood claims
that their opposition to the Islamist group meant they were in favour of
the old regime. It was possible to reject both the Mubarak regime and
rule by the Brotherhood, they said, with some suggesting there was
little difference between the two.

"Morsi is Mubarak," went another common chant.

Simultaneous protests by Brotherhood supporters and opponents in
central Cairo last Friday descended into prolonged street-fights between
the two sides in which over 100 were injured.

The violence seemed to spur a larger showing of secular protesters on
Tahrir this time around, including groups who were absent last Friday.

"Those who beat Egyptians cannot rule Egypt," was another chant.

Among the parties and movements taking part in Friday's protest were:
the Popular Current, the Constitution Party, the Free Egyptians party,
the Nile Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Socialist
Popular Alliance Party, the 6 April Youth Movement's Democratic Front,
the Revolutionary Socialists, the National Association for Change, the
Peaceful Change Front and the 'No to Military Trials' campaign.

CAIRO -- Egyptian doctors began a mass resignation campaign in
state-run hospitals across the country Thursday after the government failed to
meet demands for higher salaries, better security and a dramatic increase in national
healthcare spending.

"We're targeting at least a third of the 50,000 doctors
employed through the state. This will
cripple the Health Ministry,” said Dr. Ahmed Shoura, a member of the
strike committee. “Our campaign is going to resume until at least 15,000
resignations have been collected, then we will submit our resignations to the
ministry."

For the last three weeks, doctors in public hospitals have been
on a partial strike across the country, handling only chronic cases once
a
week. Thousands of doctors have threatened to submit their resignations
if the
state did not meet their demands in a strike that has become an
intensifying problem for President Mohamed Morsi's new government.

The strikers are also calling for "corrupt" Health Ministry employees
and former officials loyal to ousted President Hosni Mubarak
to be removed from office.

Several doctors who helped organize the strike said the ministry has
been unresponsive to their pleas for negotiations. However, Dr. Ahmed
Sedeek of the Health Ministry previously told The Times that officials
had been meeting with doctors to find a middle ground.

“Some of
the people participating in the strike believe that the Health Ministry
is against the doctors; this is not the case," Sedeek said. "We are
doctors as well and the ministry needs all of its doctors to
contribute.”

He said that while the doctors have legitimate demands, the new
government needs more time to increase the health budget as promised and
implement reform.

“Our main goal is to fix the health institution,” he said. “If the
doctors don't want to give us a chance or abort the steps we've already
taken, then this is just unfortunate.”

Last week, 85 doctors resigned from one hospital in Cairo's urban
slum district of Sayeda Zeinab, Shoura told The Times. He and several
dozen doctors in Cairo and Alexandria have already resigned. He said he expects
that they will reach their goal quickly because both doctors and patients are
"fed up" with Egypt's healthcare system.
The total number of resignations has not yet been tallied. Currently,
about 70% of doctors working with state-run hospitals are on strike,
Shoura estimated.

Egypt, which is the most-populous Arab country, allocates only about
4% of its budget to healthcare. Doctors, many of whom earn less
than $100 month, are demanding that the government raise the healthcare budget to
at least 15%.

"After about 17 days of striking, the government hasn't even
shown the initiative to review our demands because the Muslim Brotherhood sees
this strike as a blow to the popularity and credibility of their Freedom and
Justice Party and to Morsi’s government," Shoura said.

Several government officials have condemned the strike in local
media, saying it poses a danger for the health of citizens.

Shoura said violence against doctors and attacks on hospitals,
which have been occurring since last year’s uprising, have decreased since the strike began because
patients and citizens understand that it’s not the doctors who fail them but
the health system.

"People have finally realized that we are not the problem,
the patients see how bad our healthcare system is and people are now
sympathetic with our cause," Shoura said.

A
new business association founded by Muslim Brotherhood members claims
it will create a more economically just society; critics fear another
clique close to the presidency

Thursday 18 Oct 2012

A business association founded by a financier for Egypt's new Islamist
rulers says it can democratise an economy long dominated by associates
of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, but sceptics fear the emergence of just
another clique.

The Muslim Brotherhood dominates post-Mubarak politics. It has less
traction in an economy long dominated by an inner circle of businessmen
around Mubarak's now jailed son Gamal.

Opponents say the Brotherhood wants to replicate in business its firm
grip on politics, with a view to rewarding those who supported the
movement financially through the long years it was banned. That dismays
liberals who saw in Mubarak's overthrow last year an opportunity for a
more meritocratic economy.

Hassan Malek, a tycoon and Brotherhood member, insists his goal has
been promoting equal opportunity since he founded the Egyptian Business
Development Association in March, three months before the Brotherhood's
Mohamed Mursi won Egypt's presidency.

He has modelled EBDA, whose acronym means "start" in Arabic, on
Turkey's MUSIAD, an association of religiously oriented small businesses
which share information and contracts to challenge the traditional
dominance of larger groups.

"We welcome everyone who wants to work with us," said Malek, who has a
family background in business and made his money in software, textiles
and furniture. "Unequal distribution of opportunity is what we seek to
change in the new Egypt."

Businesses, many of them smaller enterprises struggling in an anaemic
economy, have rushed to join EBDA, which now has over 400 members. It
says 1,000 companies are waiting to join.

Some members represent leading businesses such as cable maker El Sewedy
Electric, food producer Juhayna and Egyptian Steel. These flourished
during Mubarak's three-decade rule but were not caught up in the
corruption lawsuits that emerged after his overthrow in February 2011.

In a mark of its ambitions - and good contacts in powerful new places -
EBDA sent a delegation of 80 businesspeople, many of them young
entrepreneurs without personal ties to the Brotherhood, to accompany
Mursi on a trip to China in August.

Many of those also joined him on visits to Italy, Turkey and Qatar as Egypt tries to end a drought in inward investment.

JAIL TIME

Osama Farid, head of international cooperation at EBDA, said Mursi's
visit to China marked a break with the past when Mubarak would typically
take only as few as 10 favoured businessmen on foreign trips to capture
the opportunities available.

"Within EBDA there are businessmen who did very well under Mubarak and
new ones looking to prosper in the new Egypt. We are not trying to
replace what exists but to offer an alternative" Farid said.

Malek has multiplied his meetings with foreign diplomats and business
people and representatives of international banks. Brotherhood officials
credit him with facilitating a $2-billion loan to Egypt from Turkey
last month.

Since Mubarak's overthrow, the change of fortunes for men like Malek has been dramatic.

Brotherhood-linked businessmen were forced to operate under
restrictions on how much wealth they could amass. Some had property
confiscated during the 1990s or were detained on suspicion of money
laundering or funding the Brotherhood.

Malek and former partner Khairat al-Shater, another Brotherhood tycoon
and financial strategist, spent more than four years in jail together
under Mubarak, who sought to curtail the Brotherhood and formally banned
it from operating.

The two men are now vying for economic influence within the movement,
Brotherhood sources told Reuters. While Malek seeks to extend the reach
of EBDA, Shater has established a chain of supermarkets and recently
held talks in Dubai to establish a bank there to help manage the
Brotherhood's finances.

Some executives are suspicious of EBDA's motives. One agribusiness
manager told Reuters he was still trying to decide whether to accept its
offer of membership: "I agree with their goals to expand the business
climate," he said.

"But my concern is that EBDA could turn into another clique close to the Islamist presidency, mirroring Gamal Mubarak's."

In Turkey, admired by some in the Brotherhood for showing that Islamist
democrats can take over from military rulers, the business organisation
MUSIAD forged ties with Egyptian peers more than a decade ago, when
Turkish entrepreneurs were trying to find ways to better exploit markets
in the region.

Its emergence as a lobby for a growing entrepreneurial middle class
came in tandem with the rise of the AK Party, which arrived in
government in 2002 and which has roots in political Islam. MUSIAD
promotes itself as a partner for foreign investors looking not only at
Turkey but the wider Islamic world.

"EBDA and MUSIAD represent a huge coming together of smaller capital,"
said Koray Caliskan, political science professor at Bosphorus University
in Istanbul. "Those people who were with the Mubarak regime were a
small coming together of big capital."

With thousands of members, and favoured by Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan of AK, MUSIAD now poses a challenge to the dominant secular
business group in Turkey, TUSIAD.

"Erdogan said capital is changing hands in Turkey," Caliskan said. "Ten
years ago everyone wanted to be TUSIAD chairman. Now everyone is away
from it. Even members do not go to meetings, as Erdogan takes aim at
them very frequently."

With Mubarak gone, Egyptian business ties with Turkey, the biggest
economy in the Middle East, are now growing to match the Brotherhood's
links with the AK Party.

But Turkey's enduring tradition of secular rule could limit the scope
for political cooperation. Egypt's new political landscape is dominated
by Islamists and ultraconservative groups for whom secularism is
synonymous with atheism.

One Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new
Egyptian government sees Turkey "not as a model but an inspiration ...
and Turkey reciprocates this".

EBDA officials say Egypt's business landscape needs levelling through a
focus on small enterprise, vocational training and cutting red tape.
They say they favour broad-based, sustainable growth that reduces
widespread poverty instead of just rewarding government cronies.

Some business experts say, however, that EBDA's leadership lacks the expertise to transform Egypt's economy.

"You will find that most of them lack the know-how and experience in
dealing with the state," said Wael Nahaas, a financial market analyst.

"Most of these businessmen are at heart traders, not economists. Until
now they have not provided a clear economic vision of where they are
trying to steer Egypt."

Twenty-eight Egyptian nationals languishing in Saudi jails maintain hunger strike for third day in row

Egyptian nationals detained in Saudi Arabia have continued their hunger
strike for the third consecutive day to demand their release, the
Association of Families of Egyptian Detainees in Saudi Arabia said in a
Wednesday statement.

The association went on to demand that President Mohamed Morsi move
quickly to secure the detainees' release from the oil-rich kingdom. The
association also stated that it had organised dozens of protests outside
the Saudi embassy in Cairo's Giza district but had received no response
from Saudi authorities.

"For the third day in row, 28 Egyptian detainees have continued their
hunger strike in several Saudi prisons, including Abaha Prison and Damam
Prison," association coordinator Shereen Farid told Ahram Online. She
added that all of the hunger strikers had been detained by Saudi
authorities without charge.

"They are considered political detainees," Farid said.

"We're calling on Egyptian officials, especially President Morsi, to
take speedy action on securing their release, as the president promised
before," Farid asserted. "If they're true criminals, we call on the
Saudi authorities to give them fair public trials according to Saudi
law."

Meanwhile, human rights groups have denounced Saudi authorities for
continuing to flog Egyptian detainee Naglaa Wafaa, who was sentenced to
five years in prison and 500 lashes as a result of a financial feud
between her and a Saudi princess. According to her family, Wafaa – who
has already received 400 lashes – was denied a lawyer to represent her
at her trial.

The plight of Egyptian nationals languishing in Saudi prisons became
the focus of considerable media interest following the arrest this
summer in Jeddah of Egyptian rights lawyer Ahmed El-Gizawi, who faces
drug smuggling charges. If El-Gizawi is found guilty, he could face the
death penalty, according to Saudi law.

Associated Press

October 20, 2012

HAGGAG SALAMA

LUXOR,
Egypt (AP) — A teacher in southern Egypt punished two 12-year-old
schoolgirls for not wearing the Muslim headscarf by cutting their hair,
the father of one girl said Wednesday, in an incident that stokes
concerns over personal rights following the rise of Islamist
political movements.

The
governor of Luxor province where the incident occurred called the
teacher's actions "shameful" and said she had been transferred to
another school. But rights groups say that some Islamic conservatives
have been emboldened by the success of groups like Muslim Brotherhood
and the ultraconservative Salafi trend in parliamentary and
presidential elections and have been increasingly brazen about forcing
their standards on other Egyptians.

The
incident follows a surge in legal cases against Egyptians, mostly
Christians, who allegedly showed contempt for religion. The trial of
one, Alber Saber, opened Wednesday but was postponed.
It
also comes amid a fierce debate over how the role of religion will be
defined in the country's new constitution. The preponderance of
Islamists on the panel drafting the document has alarmed liberals and
religious minorities.

In the village of Qurna in Luxor province, 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Cairo, Berbesh Khairi El-Rawi
said the teacher forced the two girls to stand with their hands above
their heads for two hours and then cut their hair in their school.
El-Rawi, the father of one of the two girls, told The Associated Press that he filed a complaint after the Oct. 10 incident with the prosecutor's office in Luxor. He had no further comment.

The
prosecutor's office declined to comment on the case. Provincial
governor Ezzat Saad confirmed the teacher had been transferred for a
"shameful" act but did not otherwise comment.

The teacher, Eman Abu Bakar,
could not be reached. She told the Egyptian semi-official newspaper
al-Ahram that the amount of hair she cut off of the girls' heads "did
not exceed two centimeters" (one inch).

Abu
Bakar was quoted as saying she only resorted to cutting her students'
hair after warning them repeatedly to cover their heads. After these
repeated warnings, a student handed her a scissors from his bag, and
that he and other students asked her to "implement" her threats.

In a photo published by Al-Ahram, Abu Bakar is shown wearing the niqab, a garment that covers everything but a woman's eyes.

Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the headscarf, but increasing numbers now wear the more conservative niqab.

"Whether
in schools or outside schools, the general sentiment is that any
abusive action, if it is justified as protection of Islam, is
tolerable," he said.

Meanwhile,
a Cairo court postponed proceedings in the trial of 27-year-old Coptic
Christian activist Alber Saber, who faces charges of insulting religion,
to November 14.

Saber
was arrested last month after neighbors complained he had posted an
anti-Islam film that has sparked protests across the Muslim world to his
Facebook page, but investigators didn't find them. Nonetheless, Saber
was put on trial and now faces a six-year prison sentence and fines.

His lawyer Ahmed Ezzat
said in an emailed statement that all proceedings against Saber have
involved serious legal breaches that should result in the nullifying of
any evidence put forward against him.

Ezzat
also said that after Saber's arrest on September 13, a police officer
incited others detained in the station to attack Saber, resulting in
detainees beating him and cutting him with a razor blade. A police
officer at the station denied the report, speaking anonymously as he was
not authorized to talk to the media.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesty International
said in a statement Wednesday that blasphemy cases like the one against
Saber "set a dangerous precedent for the Egyptian authorities'
tolerance of freedom of expression in the country."

"Criticism
of religions and other beliefs and ideas is a vital component of the
right to freedom of expression," Sahraoui said. "Laws - such as
blasphemy laws - that criminalize such criticism violate human rights."

The
rights group said that Saber's lawyers "fear for his safety in prison
and outside if released. They also fear for the safety of his mother and
sister who have been threatened and forced to leave their home which
was surrounded by angry mobs."

In
another incident that raised concerns over the freedom of expression, a
top parliamentarian suspended the editor-in-chief of a state-owned
newspaper for publishing a report deemed an offense to the military.

Ahmed Fahmy, the head of the Islamist-dominated Shura Council upper house of parliament, named a replacement for Gamal Abdel-Rahim
after his paper, al-Gomhuria, published a Wednesday report claiming
that authorities would soon bar the country's former top military
leaders from traveling abroad pending an investigation into alleged
corruption and the deaths of protesters during their 17 months in power.

The paper quoted an unnamed judicial source. The report was later denied by the Ministry of Justice, and a member of the armed forces protested what he called an "offense" to the military, the state Middle East News Agency said.

The
move to replace Abdel-Rahim prompted criticism from journalists and
media watchdog groups. Although the state-owned media formally belong to
the Shura Council, which appoints the editors, journalists say it is
not the business of the council to take disciplinary measures for
publishing offenses.

A
group of Abdel-Rahim's colleagues gathered at the paper's offices to
protest the decision and declared a strike. Abdel-Rahim told them that
he will not abide by the decision. He said that Egypt's union of
journalists should decide if there is to be an investigation into
the matter.
Fahmy, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, could not be reached for comment.

The state-owned papers, run for years by secular-leaning editors, had a reputation as a mouthpiece for President Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed last year.

Gamal Eid, the head of the Arab Network
for Human Rights Information media watchdog, said the decision was
"arbitrary" and is a continuation of the same "mistakes" of the
previous regime.

A
man facing trial for publishing videos critical of religions should be
immediately released by the Egyptian authorities and all charges against
him dropped, Amnesty International said today.

Alber Saber Ayad,
an activist from the 2011 uprising, is charged with "defamation of
religion". If convicted he could receive a six-year prison sentence and a
fine of 500 Egyptian Pounds (US$82). His trial resumes on Wednesday
before a Cairo misdemeanour court.

"Alber Saber Ayad is a
prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his
right to freedom of expression and should be released immediately and
unconditionally," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty
International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.

"Criticism
of religions and other beliefs and ideas is a vital component of the
right to freedom of expression. Laws – such as blasphemy laws – that
criminalize such criticism violate human rights.

"Criticism,
insult or mockery does not interfere with the individual believer’s
freedom of religion, however offensive they may find it."

Alber
Saber Ayad told his lawyers that while in detention, a police officer in
El Marg Prison incited other detainees to attack him.

The
detainees beat Alber Saber Ayad and cut him with a razor blade along his
neck. He was then taken to another room where he was beaten by 20
prisoners and forced to remain standing all night.

His lawyers
fear for his safety in prison and outside if released. They also fear
for the safety of his mother and sister who have been threatened and
forced to leave their home which was surrounded by angry mobs.

Ahmed
Ezzat, Alber Saber Ayad’s defence lawyer and legal unit director at the
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, said: “I am
concerned by the attitude of a religious judge who cannot separate his
personal views from the legal safeguards for defendants”.

"The
Egyptian authorities must complete a thorough, independent and impartial
investigation into Alber Saber Ayad’s treatment while in detention and
bring those responsible to justice. They must also ensure that he and
his family are protected from further harassment and threats," said
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Alber Saber Ayad was arrested at his home
in Cairo on 13 September, a day after angry groups of men had surrounded
and tried to break into his house and called for his death, accusing
him of heresy and atheism and of promoting “Innocence of Muslims” – a
short film regarded by many to be offensive.

His mother called
the police for protection but when they eventually arrived the next day
they arrested Alber Saber Ayad and confiscated his personal computer and
CDs.

Alber Saber Ayad's mother, Kariman Masihah Ghali said that
the Public Prosecutor in charge of the investigation had put pressure on
her about her own faith asking whether she was a Christian and what she
thought of Christianity and of Islam. When she replied that she would
be judged by god on these questions he ordered it be recorded that she
had refused to give an answer.

Alber Saber Ayad has been charged
with “defamation of Islam and Christianity”, “insulting the divine” and
“satirizing religious rituals and sanctities and prophets” under
articles 98 (f), 160 and 161 of the Egyptian Penal Code.

"Many
others in Egypt like Alber Saber Ayad are being prosecuted for
blasphemy. These cases set a dangerous precedent for the Egyptian
authorities' tolerance of freedom of expression in the country," said
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

"Action must be taken now to stop the
detention of more prisoners of conscience. The authorities must abolish
the 'blasphemy' provisions in Egyptian law which are increasingly being
used to suppress legitimate freedom of expression."

Egypt Independent

In a historic development,
two independent workers’ groups and several political parties joined
forces on Monday to establish the National Front for the Defense of
Labor Rights and Union Liberties.

The goals of the front include
the cancellation of the restrictive Trade Union Law 35/1976, the
issuing of the draft Trade Union Liberties Law promoting workers’ right
to free association, protecting unionists and laborers against punitive
sackings, confronting labor violations perpetrated by the state and/or
employers, and the establishment of a just pay-scale based on a
determined minimum and maximum wage (of no more than 15 times the
minimum).

At the core of this front are
the country’s two largest independent workers’ groups — the Egyptian
Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU) and the Egyptian
Democratic Labor Congress (EDLC). A host of left-leaning political
parties have also joined, including the Egyptian Social Democratic
Party, the Egyptian Communist Party, the Tagammu Party, the Karama
Party, the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, the Constitution Party, the
Adl Party, and the Egyptian Socialist Party, among other political
movements.

Monday’s conference was
introduced by Ahmad Hassan al-Borai, the former manpower minister, under
whom the draft Trade Union Liberties Law was formulated.

The former minister announced,
“This front is not only for confronting the vicious attacks on union
rights, but also for the protection of basic labor rights and the
realization of social justice.”

Borai added that his draft
union law was prepared by September 2011, “yet remained a dead paper
which was shelved and collected dust” under the rule of the Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces, then at the hands of the People’s Assembly,
and most recently at the hands of the new manpower minister, the Muslim
Brotherhood’s Khaled al-Azhary.

According to Abdel Ghaffar
Shokr, chief of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, “Azhary seeks to
get rid of the Trade Union Liberties Law and to merely make cosmetic
changes to Law 35.”

Borai concluded by saying he
hopes to see his Trade Union Liberties Law issued, and that he hopes to
witness “one unified independent federation” emerge via the unification
of the EFITU and EDLC.

While participants declined to
mention the aggregate number of union members between the EFITU and
EDLC, estimates suggest that their unification would amount to a
membership of fewer than 3 million. The EFITU is by far the larger of
these two workers’ groups, claiming a membership of nearly 2.5 million.

There are tens of recently established independent unions which are neither affiliated to the EFITU nor the EDLC.

Meanwhile, the
state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) still claims a
membership of 4.5 million workers. The ETUF had monopolized the trade
union movement in Egypt since its establishment in 1957.

The EFITU, which was
established on the fifth day of the 25 January revolution, emerged from
four independent unions which were founded between the years 2007-2011.
These four unions included the Real Estate Tax Authority Employees
Union, Independent Teachers Syndicate, the Egyptian Health Technologists
Syndicate and the Pensioners Federation.

Following administrative
disagreements, the Pensioners Federation broke away from the EFITU and
joined the EDLC. The EDLC had emerged as a labor umbrella group shortly
after the establishment of the EFITU.

The backbone of the EDLC is the
Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services (CTUWS), a labor rights
non-governmental organization. The EFITU, for their part, had objected
to a non-governmental organization such as the CTUWS having rights
within the organization equivalent to a union, to the CTUWS's receipt of
funding from foreign trade union federations (including the US-based
AFL-CIO), and to concerns that the CTUWS would act as an intermediary
between workers and the authorities.

Kamal Abbas, chief board
member of both the EDLC and CTUWS, clarified that future collaboration
of the EFITU with EDLC could take one of two forms — either a unified
independent trade union federation, or two different groupings with a
common leadership council or steering committee.

Participants and panelists
recommended the establishment of a joint committee of 10 board members —
five from the EFITU and five from the EDLC. Abbas recommended that the
merger process should be “carefully studied” and warned against “hastily
rushing into the process.”

Kamal Abu Eita, president of
the EFITU, commented, “Trade union unity must be voluntary and
non-compulsory.” Abu Eita pointed out that affiliation to the
state-controlled union federation was compulsory under the Mubarak
regime, and must not be so after Mubarak.

Like Abbas, Abu Eita
recommended “establishing either one unified federation, or one unified
leadership council for the two different federations.”

“Nowadays we have more
unionists who have been sacked, subjected to trials and unemployment
than under the Mubarak regime,” he added.

“Thirty-three unionists are
being interrogated by prosecutors for excising their right to strike,”
Abbas said. “Azhary is fighting us on two levels. On the first level, he
has been attacking independent unions claiming that we are
illegitimate, while it is the ETUF which is actually illegitimate.”

“On the second level,” he
continued, “he is attempting to control the ETUF. We are against party
control over the ETUF. We cannot accept that the Freedom and Justice
Party would take the place of its predecessor, the National Democratic
Party, in dominating and manipulating this state-controlled federation.”

“Unions must be independent of
the state and political parties. Unions must be democratically elected
and accountable to their constituents.”

Al-Masry Al-Youm

Mon, 15/10/2012

Jano Charbel

Hundreds rallied outside
the Alexandria Court of Appeals on Sunday as five labor activists
appealed the harshest sentence against striking workers since the time
of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s predecessor, Anwar Sadat.

The court moved to adjourn the case until 21 October.

Ahmed Sadeq, Yosri Maarouf,
Ashraf Mahmoud, Mohamed Abdel Moneim, and Essam al-Dein Mabrouk, who are
independent organizers at the Alexandria Port Containers Company, were
sentenced to three years in prison by the Alexandria Court of
Misdemeanors on 23 September. They were found guilty of instigating
strikes, sabotage and obstructing operations.

The defendants claim that they
went on strike to expose administrative corruption within their company
and the Holding Company for Maritime Transport, which is under the
authority of the Ministry of Investment. Six hundred workers joined the
strike in October 2011.

The ruling against the strikers is reportedly the harshest sentence to be issued in such a case in well over 30 years.

“These are all trumped-up
charges leveled against these five workers. And this is the strictest
sentence issued by any court against striking workers. We’ve never
witnessed such a harsh ruling against workers, not even during the rule
of Hosni Mubarak,” says Fatma Ramadan, a board member of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU).

Ramadan explained that during
Mubarak’s rule, workers were often assaulted and arrested at the hands
of his security forces. “More often than not, these workers would be
released after a few days, or weeks, at most. But now we have workers
being sentenced to three years imprisonment; we’ve never seen anything
like this,” she says.

According to defendant Yosri
Maarouf, “Officials from the ousted regime are responsible for
fabricating and filing this case against us.”

Maarouf accuses Mohamed
Ibrahim Yousef, the chief of the Maritime Transport holding company, of
being the leading figure in fabricating the charges.

“We exposed administrative and
financial violations, we exposed corruption involving the renting of
port facilities to Chinese and foreign companies,” claims Maarouf.
“Officials from both our company and the Holding Company want to silence
us. This is why we have been sentenced.”

When asked why the workers did
not attend the last court session in which the Alexandria Court of
Misdemeanors issued its verdict, Maarouf responds that they were not
informed of the trial dates or verdict.

“Our absence from court may have contributed to the harsh sentence,” says Maarouf.

He adds that “the new regime
is targeting workers who organize independent unions. They’re targeting
our right to strike, and above all, they are targeting workers who speak
out against corruption in their workplaces.”

“The ruling authorities are
actively seeking to dissolve and weaken the independent trade union
movement. The new minister of manpower [the Muslim Brotherhood’s Khaled
al-Azhary] has proven to be catastrophic for the labor movement as
whole,” Maarouf continues.

“This is the worst
performance I’ve seen in the [Ministry of Manpower’s] history. This man
[Azhary] has openly stood up against the rights of workers, unionists,
and especially independent union organizers.”

Neither Azhary, nor his
spokesperson, Alaa Awad, could be reached for comments on this ruling,
on allegations against the ministry or on other recent labor crackdowns.

Since early August, when
Azhary was sworn-in, security forces have forcefully dispersed a number
of protests.

Forces attacked unemployed workers demonstrating outside a
power plant in Alexandria, shooting one man dead; assaulted unpaid
tree-planting workers — including women — during a sit-in at the
Ministry of Agriculture; besieged striking bus drivers in their garages
across Cairo; assaulted and dispersed a teachers’ sit-in outside
Cabinet; beat street vendors across Cairo and confiscated their
merchandise; assaulted unemployed disabled persons seeking jobs who were
demonstrating outside the presidential palace; assaulted striking
microbus drivers, arresting four; and attacked a petroleum workers’
protest in the Red Sea town of Ras Ghareb.

Furthermore, union organizers
at the Independent Union of Public Transport Authority Employees and the
Independent Union of Flight Attendants were detained and interrogated
by prosecutors on charges of instigating strikes.

“Repression against strikes
has greatly increased under Morsy and Azhary. Numerous laws and
initiatives banning strikes and labor protests have been issued. The new
regime is attempting to break the will of striking workers, while the
Ministry of Manpower is simultaneously working on weakening and
attempting to control the independent union movement,” says Ramadan.

She adds that employers had
“punitively sacked” some 300 unionists from their jobs for organizing
unions and/or strikes. “The [Ministry of Manpower] has done next to
nothing to reinstate these workers.”

However, the Ministry of
Manpower has issued a number of statements claiming that it is actively
involved in resolving labor conflicts, claiming that it has successfully
resolved several such disputes.

On Saturday night, tens of
activists protested outside the Journalists Syndicate in solidarity with
the five Alexandrian dock workers. Protesters chanted, “We called for
bread, freedom and social justice; not the imprisonment of container
workers.”

The activists delivered
speeches condemning the fact that while courts were indicting workers
for exercising their right to strike, at the same time 24 top Mubarak
regime officials were acquitted of instigating deadly attacks on
protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 February in the Battle of the Camel.

A larger protest was staged in
solidarity with the five sentenced workers in the Alexandrian district
of Moharam Bey, near the courthouse where they are appealing their case.